Yates, Donald N. (Donald Norton), 1909-1993

Donald Norton Yates (1909-1993) was born in Bangor, Maine, and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1931. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Cavalry following graduation. He received his flight training at the Air Corps Flying School at Kelly Field, Texas. On January 25, 1933, he was transferred from the Cavalry to the U.S. Army Air Corps. In 1939, Yates received a Master of Science Degree in Meteorology from the California Institute of Technology, and was then assigned to the Third Weather Squadron at Barksdale Field, Louisiana as a weather officer. There he served in various command roles until in 1941, when he was appointed deputy director of weather at the U.S. Army Air Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C. During the early stages of World War II, Yates served in several significant weather coordinating missions, including in the U.S.S.R. In February, 1944, he was named director of the weather service for the U.S. Strategic Air Force in Europe. He served on the staff of General Eisenhower, and assisted in the planning of the June 6, 1944 invasion at Normandy, for which he was decorated by three governments, including the U.S. Army Legion of Merit and the Degree of Chevalier in the National Order of the Legion of Honor of France. Yates continued to serve in various weather services divisions of the Army Air Corps, and later, the U.S. Air Force after the war. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1947, and flew the first scheduled weather reconnaissance mission over the North Pole. Throughout the 1950s, following an assignment as Director of Research and Development at Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, Yates served in numerous missile development projects. From 1954 through 1960, he was assigned as Commander of the Air Force Missile Test Center, Patrick AFB, Florida. He was an instrumental leader in the progress of the Navy Projects Vanguard and Polaris, as well as numerous other missile and satellite programs. On May 4, 1960, Yates was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, and was assigned to work in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as Director of Defense Research and Engineering (Ranges and Space Ground Support). Throughout his career, General Yates received numerous citations, awards, and career distinctions.

From the description of Yates, Donald N. (Donald Norton), 1909-1993 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10612918